My Brothers and Sisters,
We are currently in the Year of Mercy as
proclaimed by Our Holy Father. Here, we are encouraged to focus on the
foundation of our faith. God is Love. And where there is Love there is
forgiveness and where there is forgiveness there is mercy. None of these can be
separated. All of God’s creation, the entire universe, was created out of an
act of love. God’s love permeates through His creation. We, created in His
image, stand at the pinnacle of Creation as a testament to that love. What did
we do to deserve this? The answer would be absolutely nothing. God gave us life
out of love. All around us the universe teems with life. It is constantly in
motion in a glorious testament to our God. Everything is so interconnected in a
beautifully choreographed dance. It is a wonderful sight to behold and
experience. How wonderful it is to be invited into such a personable
relationship with God.
With all this given to us, it is amazing
how much we ignore Him. It is so easy to forget the presence of God as we
become so wrapped up in the world around us. We become busy with so many
demands on our time. There never seems to be enough hours in the day to
complete the obligations that we have to insure stability in our families,
relationships, and work. In the world sense, the American worker works the
longest, hardest, and retires later than our counterparts throughout the
industrialized world. If we feel tired, we should be. The last place a lot of
people want to be is at church. Yet in reality it should be the first place anyone
should want to be. I guess it could be said that that is pretty easy for me to
say since I am ordained clergy and it is part of my job. But that is not the
case. I came here invited to celebrate with all of you out of love for God.
Pure and simple. And I imagine all of you came here for the exact same reason.
Religion is from the Latin word meaning
relationship. We all gather together not only to worship our God but to enter
into a dialog with Him like we do every day with all the other people we interact
with. How do approach this relationship is indicative of how we approach all of
our relationships in our lives. As long as God is central in our lives
everything else will gradually fall into place. He needs to be the foundation
and the strength that build everything else on. We cannot ignore the one who
created us.
The Parable of the Lost Son gives us
beautiful illustration of God’s Mercy and also offers forth a vision that most
families can relate to. Rebellion and defiance happen naturally in every family.
When children become of a certain age there is a propensity to spread their
wings and exercise their free will; making their own decisions; struggling to
free themselves from what they may see as controlling and domineering parents.
Many times, this brings frustration and tension to all parties involved. Those
of us who are parents are left with limited options; oftentimes waiting for
that moment to catch them when they fall and comfort them when they return. God
is our parent. He is Our Father. We are reminded that, in our own
rebelliousness, we will indeed turn away from Him often and go about our own
lives while ignoring His participation in our salvation story. It is only when
we fully return to Him, broken and desperate, that we will experience true joy.
God is patient. God is kind. And yes,
God is ever merciful. He wants to forgive us and make us whole. So, how do we
experience God’s mercy? We don’t have to make a grievous mistake or experience
a major crisis. All of us are on our own journey of faith and our relationship
with God is unique in that manner. Not recognizing God is enough to leave us
empty and unfulfilled. I think we all can remember a time when we just had that
urge to tell someone that we love them. It is so easy to do but also so easily
overlooked. Turning to God and telling Him that we love Him is the same thing:
so easily done but so oftentimes overlooked. Love is a very very powerful
emotion. Arguably it is the most powerful one since it led to our creation. It
heals everything. Mercy is undeniably connected to love because, if there is no
love, there is no mercy.
When we receive mercy and show mercy,
there is an act of surrendering. It does leave us vulnerable but in a good way.
I feel that if there was more vulnerability in the world then things would be a
lot better. It is when we are vulnerable that we are more likely to take a
moment and experience God. This is what Jesus Christ demonstrates through the
Passion. During this Season of Lent, we are encouraged to meditate on the
Crucified Christ, The Human Christ, and
join with him on his journey to Calvary. When we do this, we are more apt to
give and receive mercy.
Deacon Tom
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